Review of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) by Stevenf — 15 Mar 2013

Shane Black's writers block was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to him, because if all that built up creativity led to this sort of film more often, then we all need a case of these mental blockages, as this film, written and directed himself, is possibly the best work of his career.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is told as a mash up of different film genres, noir, comedy and all around criminal behaviour, and Robert Downey Jr makes one of the best returns to form as small time thief Harry Lockhart, who stumbles accidentally into an audition, which he is praised for after the events which had just occurred.

He is introduced to Perry "Gay Perry" van Shrike, who is played convincingly and humorously by Val Kilmer, and Perry and Harry soon set off on massive adventure of murder and mystery, all with the beautiful wit of the well written script in toe.

Downey Jr narrates an outsider point of view of the film, explaining to audiences about certain aspects of the film, even rewinding at parts he thinks he has left out, all circling towards a very unique and stylised form of story-telling.

The humour is sharp-tongued and often crude, and it is clear form the beginning that Shane Black has a particular audience in mind, not necessarily those of the crime capers, but those who are accustomed to an unorthodox style of cinema, and those who are willing to keep up with the ever expanding story.

Robert Downey Jr is excellent as Harry Lockhart, simply pacing through the movie as a good but bad guy having a bad day, while Val Kilmer is the opposite, a real life PI who is asked to help Lockhart prepare for his film role when things start to become too realistic, his acting capabilities are soon showing as his character becomes less and less cool.

Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen and Rockmund Dunbar also make up a very expansive and interesting cast, all of whom play a pivotal part in the telling of the story and are beneficial as to how all the stories become intertwined.

The film is full of dark humour and witty gags from start to finish, but with the acting of Downey Jr and Kilmer at the helm, the film is grounded to create an enjoyable and excellent piece of filmmaking that leave you laughing and shocked for a considerable amount of time.